The Forgetful Song Thrush蓝曼Lan Man那天，我刚刚走进滨河公园，便听到从小树林中传出了画眉的叫声。The other day when I went into Riverside Park, I was greeted by the chirrup of a song thrush from a grove.🎈那天/那天早上/那天晚上/那个星期（用于指说话前不久的日子）the other day/morning/evening/week🎈“便听到了画眉的叫声”未用hear译出，而是译作was greeted by…（打招呼），更加俏皮。顺声走去，我看见一只画眉正在花坛里跳来跳去。Walking towards the sound I saw the thrush hopping about in a flower bed.🎈“顺声走去”也可译作Following the sound。🎈about作副词，表示“四下、到处”，可以动词run、walk、hop等等搭配。🎈花坛a flower bed我仔细观察，寻找它腿上应该有的细索，结果没有看到。I looked carefully trying to spot a tiny piece of string that should have been fastened to its leg, but in vain.🎈spot用法较为丰富：1、动词，表示“看到、认出、发现”。2、名词，表示“地点、场所”。3、常用搭配：on the spot在现场；当场put …on the spot使…陷入困境;使…为难in a tight spot处于困境🎈枉费心机、徒劳无益、白费力气in vain例句All our efforts were in vain.我们的所有努力都付诸东流了。🎈徒劳无功、毫无用处、没效果to no avail/little avail例句I apologized repeatedly, but to little avail.我一再道歉，但丝毫没有奏效。啊，这是一只跳出樊笼自由的鸟儿。Ah, it must have escaped from its cage. It was a free bird!🎈must have done表示对过去情况的肯定推测。它自由自在地，一会儿跳上月季的花枝，扬起头来歌唱一阵，一会儿又跳进草丛里，尾巴一翘一翘，向我张望。One moment it jumped onto a rose spray and sang with its head high, the next it plunged into the grass and looked at me with its tail waving up and down.🎈一会儿…一会儿… One moment…, the next…🎈“扬起头”和“尾巴一翘一翘”均处理为with复合结构，在形式上和原文保持了对等。它那得意的神态，确实招人喜爱。Its proud and self-satisfied manner was really enchanting.🎈前缀self-: [与形容词，名词构成的词](用于构词)表示“靠自身的”，“由自身的”，“对自身的”。沾沾自喜/自鸣得意self-satisfied（或smug）自勉自励self-encouragement自我防卫 self-defense means自暴自弃had no urge for self-improvement舍己为公self-sacrifice自嘲 self-ridicule自我欣赏self-admiration在离它不远的草地上，有一只鸟笼。Not far from the bird on the grass was a bird cage.🎈英语中的否定词有一个共同特点，即：含有N开头的单词。如：no, not, never, neither, nor, nowhere, not only, no sooner 等，这些词一旦放在句首引导句子，就会产生倒装语序。not 开头时，如果是连同宾语前置，则要倒装装。not only 开头也要倒装。但是，诸如 not far, not long ago，in no time 等表示时间、地点的副词，相对比较独立，即便放在句首也不倒装，因为二者并非正儿八经表示否定含义，比如not far（不远处）可理解为near（近处）；not long ago（不久前）可理解为recently（最近）。又，英语中，有些倒装是出于语法上的需要，非用倒装语序不可，具有强制性；有些则是为了达到某种修辞效果，如强调、平衡、衔接等。本句的倒装是第二种情况。涂了漆的竹蔑儿，根根洁净、整齐。It was made of painted bamboo strips and looked neat and clean.🎈说竹蔑根根洁净、整齐，用英文表述起来似不大合理，译文改为指整个鸟笼洁净、整齐。笼顶上的那个大笼钩儿，程明瓦亮。On top of the cage stood a big gleaming metal hook.🎈表地点的介词/副词短语放在句首时，句子全部倒装（这时谓语为不及物动词 be, sit, stand, lie等笼门上还挂着一个大红绒穗子，好看极了。From the cage-door hung a fiery red tassel, which added to the magnificence of the cage.🎈“好看极了”按“给笼子增添光彩”之意，意译为added to the magnificence of the cage。若与住房比拟,这可算是一幢相当豪华的住宅了。As birdhouses go, this was certainly a luxurious residence.🎈“若与住房比拟”可直译为If compared to a house，但翻译腔十分明显，现译更符合英语表达习惯。在附近的马缨花树下，一位老人正坐着打瞌睡。An old man was dozing under a nearby hibiscus tree.🎈此处“马缨花树”译作a hibiscus（木槿） tree，二者差别还蛮大的。不妨借鉴之前在季羡林《黎明前的北京》中出现的译法：the silk trees（合欢树）。附上之前的一个问答：Q：“…马缨花树散发出来的阵阵幽香, the giant silk trees…”中的樱花树为啥用silk trees?🎈老婆饼里没老婆，马缨花树也不是樱花，何况是“缨”不是“樱”。合欢又名绒花树，马缨花。silk trees指合欢树。没毛病啊，翻译不是说单纯的文字对接文字就完事儿了，译者往往要查很多背景知识、百科知识。长此以往，译者就变成了一个杂家。看来，他就是鸟笼的主人。He seemed to be the owner of the cage.🎈看来/好像seem to be他听到我的脚步声，睁开了睡眼。Hearing my approaching steps he opened his eyes.🎈approaching是增译成分，表明“脚步声的逼近”，符合我朝老人走去的动作。我主动向他打招呼:“老师傅，你的画眉逃出了笼子!”“是的，让它散散步。”I began the dialogue.“Hello. Your bird has got out.”“Yeah. Let it go for a stroll.”🎈如用take the initiative in doing sth或on one’s own initiative 之类词组翻译“主动向他打招呼”，则有用词过大之嫌。现译能承上启下，较为流畅自然。“不怕它飞走了么？”我说。老人望了望我，又冷冷一笑:“飞走，往哪儿飞!它舍不得那个食罐儿!” “Aren’t you afraid it might fly away?”The old man cast a glance at me and gave an uncaring smile. “Fly away? But why should it? It can’t leave the food bowl. ”🎈“往哪儿飞”，其意并不在“逃走的目的地是什么地方”，而是“有什么理由飞走”。故不要用where译此句，而译why should it (fly away)?。现译使上下文更为连贯。我望望食罐儿，并没有什么特殊之处,只不过是细瓷印有一枝梅花罢了。Examining the bowl carefully, I found nothing special about it. It was no more than a small fine china bowl with a plum design on the side.🎈“望望”可按“打量”之意理解，可以选用eye（作动词）一词。罐中的鸟食是些黄澄澄的颗粒，有一缕野草的清香散发出来。The bird food in it was some yellow grains which gave off the refreshing smell of wild grass.🎈释放，放出，发出（气味、热、光等）give off例句The flowers gave off a fragrant perfume.花儿散发出芳香。这不外乎把泡软了的小米拌上煮熟了的蛋黄，也许又加了一点什么香料之类，没有什么稀奇。I thought it must be a mixture of soaked millet and the yolk of boiled eggs, perhaps with some condiments added to it. There was nothing special about it.🎈没有什么稀奇→没什么特别之处，译作There was nothing special about it。special有“具体”和“特殊”两种意思，要根据具体语境判断。我把我的看法向老人说了。他摇了摇头，没有说什么，只冲着我微笑。I told the old man what was on my mind, but he just shook his head and smiled at me without saying a word.🎈跟mind搭配的介词有两个：in和on。但on one’s mind和in one’s mind的意思不同，前者比后者多一层“挂念”的意味。由此看来，此处用in my mind反而比on my mind更为合适。我不好再追问他，也许在养鸟这门学问里面，各有各的绝招儿，其中奥秘不愿告人。I knew better than to keep on inquiring, for each has his own tricks in raising birds and such secrets must never be given away.🎈明白事理（而不至于），不至于糊涂到know better (than that/than to do sth)例句He knows better than to judge by appearances.他明白得很，决不会凭表面现象来判断。这时，我瞧见那只自由的鸟儿，从从容容地走进了笼门儿。啪的一声，老人随后把笼门关上。Just at that moment I saw the carefree bird walk into the cage at a leisurely pace. Seeing that his bird was re-encaged, the old man slid down the cage-door with a click. 🎈“自由的鸟儿”当然可以译作free bird，但此时最好加上引号，毕竟走回笼子算哪门子自由？参考译文按“无忧无虑（不忧食宿）”处理为了carefree bird。画眉得意洋洋，立在食罐上正啄食那黄澄澄的颗粒。Standing on the rim of the bowl complacently, the thrush had already begun to peck at its food.🎈（因不饿而）浅尝几口peck at sth我走出公园想着，那食罐里放了什么样的“迷魂药”，竟使一只美丽的画眉,只会唱歌而忘却了自己的一双翅膀？！As I left the park, I turned over in my mind a recurring question—what was the magic in the food that had made this beautiful bird sing so happily but forget about its wings?🎈“迷魂药”这一比喻不宜直译为magic potion之类，英语读者不好接受。译文采用了意译方法。🎈turned over in my mind意为“…在我脑海里翻转”，此处表示“常常会想到”，值得借鉴。这一用法在何为的《散书偶感》中也见到过：“散书也是近年来我<常常想到>的问题… In recent years, I, too, have often <turned over in my mind> the question of …”🔥必背词汇thrush cn.鸫（一种背部为褐色、胸部有褐色斑点的鸟）英义a bird with a brown back and brown spots on its chest 例句a song thrush歌鸫grove cn.树丛，小树林英义A grove is a group of trees that are close together.例句open fields and groves of trees开阔的田野和片片树林hop v.鸟、小动物双脚跳，齐足跳行英义When birds and some small animals hop, they move along by jumping on both feet.例句A small brown fawn hopped across the trail in front of them.一只棕色的小鹿蹦跳着穿过他们面前的那条小路。spray cn.（戴在身上的）一簇花，枝状饰物英义an attractive arrangement of flowers or jewellery, that you wear 例句a spray of orchids一簇兰花🔥重点表达健忘的画眉the forgetful song thrush那天the other day滨河公园Riverside Park花坛a flower bed徒劳in vain跳进草丛里plunged into the grass一会儿…一会儿… One moment…, the next…尾巴一翘一翘with its tail waving up and down沾沾自喜/自鸣得意self-satisfied一只鸟笼a bird cage涂了漆的竹蔑儿painted bamboo strips一幢相当豪华的住宅/豪宅a luxurious residence打瞌睡doze食罐儿the food bowl释放，放出，发出（气味、热、光等）give off泡软了的小米soaked millet煮熟了的蛋黄the yolk of boiled eggs没有什么稀奇。There was nothing special about it.明白事理（而不至于）；不至于糊涂到know better (than that/than to do sth)（因不饿而）浅尝几口peck at sth🔥复盘测试健忘的画眉那天滨河公园花坛徒劳跳进草丛里一会儿…一会儿… 尾巴一翘一翘沾沾自喜/自鸣得意一只鸟笼涂了漆的竹蔑儿一幢相当豪华的住宅/豪宅打瞌睡食罐儿释放，放出，发出（气味、热、光等）泡软了的小米煮熟了的蛋黄没有什么稀奇明白事理（而不至于）；不至于糊涂到（因不饿而）浅尝几口🔥表达对比「徒劳」有几种表达？我仔细观察，寻找它腿上应该有的细索，（结果没有看到）。I looked carefully trying to spot a tiny piece of string that should have been fastened to its leg, but in vain.提着行李包，撑着雨伞排进等岀租汽车的长队，（没希望）.I joined a long queue for taxis with luggage and umbrella in hand, but to no avail.从长远来看，也有可能是（徒劳）的。In the long run it may be futile, too.他们的意见分歧太大，以至于讨论他们的不同意见将是（徒劳）的。They had such different ideas that discussing their difference would have been a futile effort.
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爱是一颗心遇到另一颗心（出处+配图） 
